New UN envoy to Somalia holds first meetings in Mogadishu

The newly appointed United Nations envoy to Somalia arrived today in country’s capital, Mogadishu, for talks with leaders of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) in a bid to encourage national reconciliation.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, met with President Yusuf, Prime Minister Gedi, Honorable Aden Mohamed Nur, Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, and other officials.

Mr. Ould Abdallah’s visit to Mogadishu took place one day after the commemoration of International Peace Day, and he joined leaders of the TFIs in a tree-planting ceremony marking the occasion.

The envoy held a separate meeting with Ali Mahdi Mohamed, Chairman of the National Governance and Reconciliation Committee, to commend that body and the people of Somalia for the successful holding of the National Reconciliation Congress.

Mr. Ould Abdallah called for the full implementation of the Congress’s outcome and urged a broadening of the national reconciliation process. Toward that end, he encouraged Ali Mahdi Mohamed and his committee members to pursue their objectives “with the great vigour and commitment that they have already shown.”

Mr. Ould Abdallah, who was appointed Special Representative earlier this month, also held a separate meeting with the UN national staff on the ground to commend them for “their courage and outstanding job in the field” and called on them to continue working as a coherent team for the interest of the Somali people.

Held in Mogadishu during July and August, the Congress aimed to foster internal coherence in Somalia, which has had no functioning government since Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991.